Glossary

Transactions which are bundled (or grouped) together during the execution of a transaction.

Cumulative weight of a transaction

A variable needed for approval algorithms. It is the sum of the own weight of the transaction and the own weights of all transactions directly or indirectly approving this transaction.

DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph)

Is a specific data structure based on a graph without any directed cycles. Instead of having a single branch with nodes having only one edge, in a DAG there can be multiple branches. Refer to Wikipedia for more information.

Decentralized

This term describes a currency that isn’t issued or controlled by a centralised authority (e.g bank or government). This means that the described cryptocurrency isn’t directly affected by inflation or governmental regulations, but it also means that investors carry more responsibility.

Depth of a transaction

a variable needed for approval algorithms. The depth of a transaction is the longest reverse-oriented path to some tip.

Direct validation of a transaction

In a tangle every new issued transaction confirms two tips. In the picture below, every rectangle represents a transaction and every arrow a confirmation. The easiest way to explain a direct confirmation is to visualize it: green transactions represent a direct confirmation while the blue transactions are indirect confirmations.

Dynamic-IP

Describes an IP-address that constantly changes after a fixed time-period. The IP-addresses issued by Internet Service Providers are usually dynamic.

Genesis-Transaction

The Genesis-Transaction is the first transaction in which all IOTA tokens have been created and distributed to several founder addresses.

Headless node

A node running in the terminal without a graphical user interface (GUI).

Height of a transaction

A variable needed for approval algorithms. The height of a transaction is the longest oriented path to the genesis.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Describes the internetworking of physical devices such as buildings, vehicles, and other things. Refer to Wikipedia for more information.

MAM (Masked Authenticated Messaging)

A unique module on top of IOTA, that makes it possible to send data fully encrypted to authenticated parties.

Peer to Peer Network

Decentralized network consisting of peers (or nodes) which are connected with each other and exchange/share data.

Proof of Work

Algorithm which prevents Denial of Service and spam attacks on a network. Computationally hard puzzle, but easy to verify.

Replay

This term refers to replaying a previous transfer, meaning the node will completely ‘redo’ the Proof of Work. This action is needed if your neighbors have not broadcast your transactions or if your transaction is left unconfirmed after a certain period of time (reason for the latter could be that you validated a sub-tangle with invalid transactions, thus your transfer will not be validated by other nodes)

Seed

81-char string consisting only of uppercase latin letters and 9's which are used to access an account. A seed is like a private key/password. Keep it secure and don't share it with anyone!

Static-IP

Describes an IP-address that never changes. These IPs are needed to run IOTA nodes as the automatic peer discovery has been removed.

Tangle (DAG)

A directed acyclic graph (DAG) is a distributed ledger which stores all the transaction data in the IOTA network. The Tangle is the first distributed ledger to achieve scalability with zero transaction fees and ‘quantum-proof’ security. Unlike traditional Blockchains, consensus is no-longer decoupled but instead it’s an intrinsic part of the system, leading to a decentralized and self-regulating peer-to-peer network.

Tips

(Unconfirmed) transactions in the tangle that have not yet been referenced by other, newer transactions.

Trinary

Alternative to binary, which consists of three states: true, false and unknown. Read more here.

Weight of a transaction

A variable needed for approval algorithms. The weight of a transaction is proportional to the work the issuing node invested into it.